Sunterra Market at West Market Square in Calgary. Photo: Trip Advisor
Alberta-based Sunterra Group, with a portfolio of grocery stores and meat processing facilities, recently went through a court-approved for sale or investment process within its court-supervised restructuring proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
In April, the Court of King’s Bench granted the sale and investment solicitation process for the company with a portfolio of agriculture and food businesses in Alberta including a multi-generational pork production operation with more than 595,000 square feet of barn infrastructure on 1.150 acres of land across eight facilities and a premium grocery retailer operating seven “farm-to-fork” market locations.
Interested parties who wanted to pursue this opportunity were given a deadline of June 25 to submit a letter of intent to the sale advisor, KPMG Corporate Finance Inc. The next phase involves the assessment of those submissions.
FTI Consulting Canada Inc. is the court-appointed monitor.
Exterior of the Sunterra Market at Bower Place in Red Deer, Alberta. Photo: Red Deer Branding Photography
In February Retail Insider reported that an Alberta judge ruled that Sunterra engaged in cheque kiting on what the court described as an “astonishing scale,” finding the company liable to U.S. agricultural lender Compeer Financial for approximately $35 million.
In a decision issued on January 27 by the Court of King’s Bench in Calgary, Justice Michael Lema also held Sunterra’s president personally responsible for the debt, marking a significant escalation in the legal and financial pressures facing the vertically integrated agri-food group, said the news story.
The ruling arrived as Sunterra continued to restructure under court supervision following months of financial strain, lender disputes, and operational disruption. While the decision focuses on conduct between Canadian and U.S. affiliates and lenders, it carries implications for the broader Sunterra group, including its premium Sunterra Market grocery stores across Alberta, said the story.
In his written decision, Justice Lema likened the financial practices at issue to a game of musical chairs where there are not enough seats when the music stops. He concluded that Sunterra’s Canadian entities fraudulently misrepresented the availability of funds behind cheques sent to the United States, inducing Compeer to continue honouring payments that were not backed by actual cash balances.
Founded in 1970 by the Price family, Sunterra traces its origins to Pig Improvement Canada, a hog-production business built on higher-standard farming practices. The company launched Sunterra Meats and Sunterra Market in 1990, the latter debuting in downtown Calgary’s Bankers Hall with a European-style market concept that emphasized fresh food, in-house production, and premium positioning.
Sunterra Market in Edmonton’s Lendrum Centre. Photo: Tripadvisor
In 2025, Sunterra filed a Notice of Intention (NOI) to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and Harris & Partners was appointed as Proposal Trustee.
Court documentsindicated the company had more than 200 creditors with liabilities of $18.9 million
“Please be advised that the Company is not bankrupt and has availed itself to a procedure whereby an insolvent person, with creditor and Court approval, restructures its financial affairs,” said court documents. “The role of the Proposal Trustee in this matter is to monitor the cash flow of the Company during the restructuring process, to assist with the development of the Proposal, and to liaise with creditors, who will ultimately make the decision regarding the Proposal.”
In April 2025, Sunterra obtained protection under CCAA.
On its website, Sunterra for its market lists five Calgary locations, one in Edmonton and one in Red Deer. It also states that the Commerce Place location on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton is permanently closed.
Michael Kehoe, Broker with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate, said Sunterra Market has been a fixture on the Calgary grocery and food service scene for a generation and for Calgary consumers it would be sad to lose a family-owned and operated shopping option in this retail sector.
“Several of the five locations would be desirable to other retail grocery brands with other spaces likely to be repurposed with other commercial uses once the dust settles on everything. The Calgary retail scene is constantly evolving, and the extremely competitive retail grocery business is changing before our eyes with new value-oriented food stores serving the community. This trend will likely continue as the city densifies and expands,” he said.
Sleep Country Corp. says its acquisition of Sleep Number will give the retailer a foothold in the U.S. market while adding what CEO Stewart Schaefer calls the industry’s most technologically advanced mattress brand to its growing portfolio.
In an interview with Retail Insider, Schaefer, President & CEO of SleepCountry, Dormez-vous, Endy, Hush, Silk & Snow, Casper, Simba, and Sleep Number, said the deal is about more than adding another mattress brand. He said Sleep Number’s network of about 600 U.S. stores, established brand recognition and proprietary sleep technology provide an opportunity to expand the company’s North American footprint while also bringing the brand into Sleep Country and Dormez-Vous stores in Canada and into the U.K. through its Simba business.
Schaefer said the acquisition fits the company’s long-standing strategy of buying brands that offer products, technology or customer appeal it does not already have, adding that he believes Sleep Country’s current collection of brands now serves virtually every segment of the sleep market while leaving room for continued organic growth.
Image Provided by Stewart Schaefer Sleep Number storefront in an American shopping centre. Photo: Sleep Number
“What a lot of people don’t know is that the Sleep Number product is the most advanced, innovative technology mattress in the world. It’s huge in the United States,” said Schaefer.
“The mattresses – there are like seven different mattresses – mattresses are air-controlled, so you can make the bed itself softer or harder at any point in time and on both sides of the bed. You also can make the bed cooler or hotter. It actually blows air conditioning or heating, like stuff you’ve seen in some of the cars now.
“It also has the adjustable component, and it comes with health apps and checks your heart rate. It really is the crown jewel. They’ve been around for 42 years. It’s longer than we’ve been around, which is 32 years.
“For 30 years, I’ve always admired it. We used to actually sell the product in Canada about 20 years ago, but we were a very different business, and we were importing it from the United States. We weren’t very good at importing at the time because everything in our business was from local distributors.”
Not only was it the quality and uniqueness of the product, but being able to have that with the 600 stores across the United States allows Sleep Country to enter the U.S. with store distribution, with the quality of this incredible product, with their fulfillment centres, and brand awareness that is literally through the roof, explained Schaefer.
“It’s rare that I can find something that’s unique to Canada because I’m going to bring that into our 300 stores in Canada, since all the other brands I already have here in Canada,” said Schaefer.
“I’m going to take it to the UK, and we’re going to combine it with our Simba brand in the UK, and we’re going to open up brick-and-mortar stores in the UK with that brand.”
Sleep Number store. Image: CenterPoint
He said the plan is to roll the Sleep Number brand into the company’s Sleep Country stores and Dormez-Vous stores. Although there’s no need to do standalone stores, there may be a few flagship stores.
“I might put one in Yorkdale Mall. I might put one in Calgary, in Chinook mall, some of the high-profile malls in the country. But the majority is going to roll seamlessly into my own stores,” he explained.
Over the past few years, Sleep Country has been on a buying spree of different brands. What’s the strategy behind all this?
“I always ask myself the question when I’m looking at something: build or buy?,” said Schaefer.
“If I can build it, in most cases, anything related to our business we can build. The only times that I buy are when they have something uniquely different that I guess, over time, I could develop myself, but it’s something uniquely different that I don’t have.
“When we bought Endy, it was clear that they were unbelievable as the number one bed-in-a-box company in the country. Hush was edgy and cool on the accessories side of the business.
“Silk & Snow was affordable luxury, a whole other category besides their beds, which were fantastic, between all their linens, sheets, and some of their introduction into furniture. Again, something uniquely different than what we did.
“Simba was the same thing in the UK—a brand that resonated unbelievably with the consumer.
“Every single time when I saw these companies, we would meet the teams, and the teams themselves would be uniquely different from our teams. In many ways, they created an incubator of talent within the sleep space.”
Endy photo
Whenever there’s an opportunity to expand, the company only does so after measuring how the brand scores with the consumer.
“If the brand scores unbelievably well, that’s the first interest we take. If the product is innovative and different from what we currently have, that’s the second part,” he shared.
“Then, if there’s an opportunity to give us something—in this case, Sleep Number—we could have gone to the United States and opened up stores ourselves, I guess. But it would take me at least a decade to build out that many stores, maybe even longer. It’s taken me 32 years to build out 300 stores.
“Instantly, I now have 600 stores in the U.S., and 600 stores with a very powerful brand name that I would say is equal to the Sleep Country name in Canada, as Sleep Number is in terms of brand awareness in the United States.”
Schaefer believes Sleep Country has hit its critical mass of quality, amazing brands that really tackle all customer segmentations, all merchandising hierarchies, and all marketing demographics.
“You never want to say that you’re done, but between all the different brands that we have right now, there’s really nothing I’m missing for the consumer. It always goes back to the consumer. I always think through the eyes of the consumer,” he explained.
“I still walk through my stores today after 32 years, and I act like a consumer and ask myself, “What am I missing? What can’t my customers get?” In these Sleep Number stores, I’m going to bring Silk & Snow’s sheets, pillows, linens, and all their beautiful products into those stores.
“In the UK, Simba is the number one digital brand out there, but I’m going to bring the Simba digital brand into a brick-and-mortar environment with Sleep Number because you couldn’t probably do Simba by itself.
“I think we have the collection of brands that resonate incredibly well with the consumer, and we’re just going to continue to grow organically, just like we’ve been doing with Sleep Country.
“Now I think, between all these brands, we have enough of a portfolio to open greenfield locations for the rest of our larger plan. If something comes along, we’re always opportunistic. If some brilliant young person comes up with a new idea or something different worldwide, hopefully someone will knock on our door and show us something because we’re always curious about something a little more special.”
Silk & Snow x Sleep Country Canada
Schaefer also said Sleep Country is looking to launch the new Bed Bath & Beyond concept in the fourth quarter of this year.
“There’s a technology stack that we’re working on, the merchandising. They’re taking their time in curating a really special type of collection. It’s not going to be your everyday. We’re not looking to compete against the world of Amazon or Walmart. We want to make it really special and have a curated collection of products,” he said.
“Recently we also just took over Kitchen Stuff Plus, which is a chain of 20 stores in Ontario. They’re in the kitchen business. The reason we did that, once again, is that we know bath and we know bed. I didn’t know the “Beyond” part—the kitchens part—very well.
“So here was this wonderful opportunity to create some type of partnership with Kitchen Stuff Plus. We’re going to help with that brand, but at the same time, we’re going to take the talented people from Kitchen Stuff Plus to help build out a broader kitchen selection in Bed Bath & Beyond. So the online store is going to launch in the fourth quarter. Brick-and-mortar will launch sometime in 2027. I don’t know when. It’ll probably be in the back half of the year.
“We want to get it right. We want to listen to our customers and see what they say. If they’re happy with the selection, it’s easier to make adjustments online than in a brick-and-mortar environment. Once we feel that we’ve got the recipe right, then we will look to open up stores across the country.”
The report examines Canadian retail loss prevention, physical security, cybersecurity, fraud prevention, shrink reduction, payments security and retail risk management. Drawing on Retail Insider reporting, industry research and public data, it considers how risks once handled separately are becoming interconnected across stores, digital platforms, supply chains and corporate operations.
Retail Insider Reports are designed to deliver executive-level insights across major retail sectors and can be accessed through the Retail Insider Report Hub.
General Themes
Risk has moved beyond merchandise: Loss prevention now encompasses employee safety, customer data, digital infrastructure, payment systems, inventory accuracy and operational continuity.
Crime is influencing real estate decisions: Persistent theft and safety concerns can affect operating hours, capital investment, expansion plans and the viability of individual locations.
Security can introduce commercial friction: Locked products, access controls and other protective measures may reduce shrink while also discouraging purchases and weakening the customer experience.
Thin-margin retailers face greater exposure: Sustained shrink and rising security costs can quickly undermine locations in categories where profitability is already limited.
Technology is widening the security mandate: Artificial intelligence, video analytics and electronic surveillance are becoming more important, but so are protection against cyberattacks, payment fraud and account takeovers.
Data integrity is becoming a loss issue: Inventory errors, weak audit trails and inaccurate operational data can produce lost sales and financial damage even when no criminal act has occurred.
Collaboration is increasingly necessary: Retailers, landlords, governments, law enforcement agencies and communities all have a role in responding to organized retail crime and repeat offenders.
Retail Insider Coverage
Retail Insider’s reporting documents how security pressures are translating into operating and investment decisions. The report points to 7-Eleven’s warning that crime and theft could place multiple Winnipeg locations at risk of closure. It also examines London Drugs’ closure of its Woodward’s location in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside following years of operating losses and persistent safety challenges.
In Toronto, Dudley’s Hardware cited break-ins, vandalism and neighbourhood safety concerns among the factors behind downsizing and eventually closing its longstanding downtown location. These cases show how persistent crime can affect more than merchandise costs. It can determine whether a retailer maintains hours, carries certain products or continues serving a community.
Retail Insider coverage also followed research and industry developments involving EY, QBE, Equifax Canada and DALBAR. Together, those stories connect cyber threats, AI-enabled attacks, first-party fraud, customer friction and inventory accuracy to a broader retail risk environment.
Broader Industry Coverage
The report says retail theft now costs Canadian businesses more than $9 billion annually, while shrink is estimated at approximately 1.5 per cent of retail sales. Retail Council of Canada-led enforcement initiatives seized 121 weapons in 2024, and 81 per cent of retailers reported that organized retail crime offenders had become more violent. Repeat offenders accounted for 17.7 per cent of arrests during the council’s initiatives.
Those conditions are placing added pressure on frontline employees and on the economics of individual stores. Health and personal care stores, including pharmacies and drugstores, recorded a pre-tax profit margin of approximately 5.7 per cent in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data cited in the report. In a thin-margin business, sustained shrink and additional security spending can quickly influence a location’s viability.
The response also carries commercial risk. Research from DALBAR and Competitor IQ found that 38 per cent of shoppers had abandoned purchases because of security measures and in-store friction. Retailers therefore face a difficult calculation: controls strong enough to reduce loss may also restrict access, slow transactions and erode customer trust.
Beyond stores, Equifax Canada reported a 31 per cent year-over-year increase in first-party fraud. IBM placed the average cost of a Canadian data breach at nearly $7 million in 2025. These figures reinforce the report’s conclusion that payments, loyalty programs, inventory systems and digital commerce platforms now belong within the retail security discussion.
Editor’s Take
The central shift is that loss prevention has become a question of enterprise resilience and market presence. Crime, fraud, cyber threats and weak operational data can all influence where retailers invest, how stores are designed and whether certain locations remain viable. The retailers under the greatest pressure may be those operating essential, thin-margin stores in communities already vulnerable to losing local services. Effective loss prevention will require integrated decisions across security, technology, operations, real estate and customer experience.
Furniture purchases can reveal a great deal about consumer confidence.
Households worried about employment, housing costs or the direction of the economy can continue using an older sofa, postpone replacing a dining table or furnish a new home one room at a time. Unlike groceries and other necessities, most home furnishings can wait.
That helps explain why Wayfair’s latest quarterly results tell two different stories about the North American consumer.
The Boston-based home retailer reported its strongest U.S. revenue growth of the post-pandemic period during the second quarter of 2026. Its Canadian business, however, continues to operate in a more difficult consumer environment.
Wayfair executives said the modest improvement appearing in the U.S. home furnishings market had not extended to Canada or the United Kingdom, where consumer sentiment and discretionary spending remained under pressure.
The divergence offers another indication that Canada’s home furnishings market has yet to join the recovery beginning to emerge south of the border.
Wayfair’s U.S. Business Accelerates
Wayfair generated US$3.52 billion in net revenue during the quarter ended June 30, an increase of 7.5% from the previous year.
Revenue in the United States increased 8.7% to approximately US$3.13 billion, while international revenue declined 1.3% to US$394 million. On a constant-currency basis, the international segment was down 2%. Wayfair combines its Canadian and British operations in that segment and does not disclose separate revenue figures for the two countries.
Orders delivered during the quarter increased 6%, while active customers rose 3.2% to 21.7 million. Average order value also continued to move higher.
The company’s growth was notable because it did not depend on a dramatic improvement in the wider furniture industry.
Wayfair co-founder and CEO Niraj Shah said the U.S. category was approximately flat to slightly positive compared with the previous year, marking the first quarter since 2021 in which the company had measured any year-over-year category growth. Wayfair’s U.S. sales grew considerably faster, indicating that the retailer continued to capture market share.
Management described the improvement as early and uneven, with stronger growth concentrated among higher-income households.
Canada remains on a different trajectory.
“The macro improvement did not extend to our end markets in Canada or the U.K., which both saw continued pressure on consumer sentiment and discretionary spending,” CFO Kate Gulliver told analysts.
Wayfair did not quantify how Canada performed relative to the U.K., meaning the international decline cannot be assigned entirely, or even primarily, to Canadian operations. Gulliver’s comments nevertheless provide a direct assessment of the market from one of North America’s largest home furnishings retailers.
Canadian Furniture Sales Remain Below Last Year
Recent Statistics Canada data supports Wayfair’s description of a cautious Canadian market.
Sales at Canadian furniture retailers increased 0.8% between April and May 2026, offering a modest sign of sequential improvement. They remained 2.3% below May 2025.
The broader category encompassing furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliance retailers increased 0.6% during the month but was down 6.1% year over year. Sales at floor covering, window treatment and other home furnishing retailers were 5.1% lower than a year earlier.
The figures suggest the category may be stabilizing in some areas without experiencing a broad recovery.
Canadian households have not stopped buying furniture, and month-to-month improvements may eventually develop into more durable momentum. Current sales levels nevertheless remain below those recorded a year ago.
The weakness also cannot be understood solely through changes in furniture prices. The larger issue is the amount of money consumers have available after paying for housing, food, transportation, debt servicing and other necessities.
A sofa does not need to become dramatically more expensive for a family to decide it is unaffordable this year. It only needs to compete with more urgent expenses.
Wayfair showroom in Wilmette, Il. Photo: Wayfair
Major Purchases Remain Easy to Postpone
The Bank of Canada’s second-quarter Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations found that consumers continued to view the economy as challenging. High prices and economic uncertainty remained a drag on household spending plans, while concerns about inflation and energy prices had increased.
Furniture is particularly exposed to this behaviour. It is a high-consideration purchase that can usually be deferred without an immediate consequence. Consumers can repair an existing item, purchase a less expensive alternative, wait for a promotion or decide that a room does not need to be completed immediately.
That places furniture retailers in a highly promotional environment. Wayfair executives said discounting remains common at the mass-market end of the category because retailers and suppliers must work harder to attract cautious consumers.
Promotions can encourage a shopper who was already considering a purchase, but they cannot fully overcome weak confidence or limited household cash flow.
Housing Activity Has Not Yet Produced a Furniture Rebound
The Canadian housing market has begun to show signs of improvement, although the recovery remains gradual.
National home sales increased 5.5% between April and May, followed by a further 0.5% increase in June. Actual June activity was 0.9% above the same month in 2025.
The Canadian Real Estate Association nevertheless forecasts that 463,336 residential properties will change hands in 2026, representing a 1.4% decline from 2025.
Housing turnover is closely watched by the furniture industry because moving households often purchase mattresses, seating, dining furniture, storage products, appliances and home décor. Improving real estate activity should eventually create additional demand, but the relationship is not immediate.
A home purchase also brings a down payment, closing costs, moving expenses and, in many cases, renovations. Buyers who stretched to enter the market may have little money left to furnish the property. Existing homeowners facing higher mortgage payments may also be less willing to replace furniture that remains functional.
The current market therefore contains an apparent contradiction: housing activity can begin to improve while furniture spending remains subdued.
Canada’s housing recovery has not yet been strong or widespread enough to produce a comparable rebound in home furnishings.
Luxury Shoppers Are Behaving Differently
Wayfair’s results also demonstrate how differently the market is performing across income groups.
The company’s specialty retail brands, including Joss & Main, AllModern and Birch Lane, grew by nearly 20% during the quarter. Perigold, Wayfair’s luxury home furnishings platform, grew by more than 35%.
Perigold now generates slightly more than US$400 million in annual sales and has an active customer base approaching 400,000. Those customers spend almost three times as much annually as the typical Wayfair shopper, according to the company.
Shah characterized the environment as a K-shaped recovery. Affluent households are proving more resilient, while consumers at the mass-market end of the category remain more sensitive to economic pressure.
That does not establish that Canada’s luxury home furnishings market is growing at the same rate. Wayfair’s Perigold disclosures primarily concern the United States, where the company is investing in physical stores, design services and a broader assortment.
The results do illustrate a wider challenge when interpreting retail growth. Strong company-wide numbers do not necessarily mean the average household has returned to discretionary spending. A relatively small group of affluent customers can generate substantial growth through larger and more frequent purchases.
Wayfair.ca Mississauga Office (Google Streetview)
Wayfair Is Becoming an Omnichannel Retailer
Wayfair’s U.S. momentum also reflects a company moving beyond its origins as a pure online marketplace. The retailer opened stores in Atlanta and Columbus during 2026, with Denver expected to follow in the fall. It has announced additional U.S. locations for 2027, including Westchester, Fort Lauderdale, Cincinnati, Princeton and Pittsburgh.
Management said more than half of the customers visiting its stores are new to Wayfair’s customer file.
The locations allow shoppers to see materials, assess comfort and better understand the dimensions of products before making a purchase. They also give Wayfair another way to acquire customers without relying exclusively on digital advertising.
This is particularly relevant in furniture, where colour, scale, texture, construction and comfort can be difficult to evaluate through a screen.
Wayfair sells products in its stores at the same prices offered online. Much of the displayed inventory also remains owned by suppliers, allowing the company to operate the locations without assuming the full inventory burden associated with a conventional furniture chain.
The result is a store that functions partly as a showroom, partly as a customer-acquisition channel and partly as an entry point into Wayfair’s much larger online assortment.
Wayfair has not announced a comparable store expansion in Canada. Canadian customers continue to have access to the company’s extensive online marketplace, but they are not yet receiving the same developing omnichannel experience being introduced across selected U.S. markets.
Wayfair executives noted that new programs cannot always be deployed in every country simultaneously. Loyalty and technology initiatives can reach international markets later because of operational and development requirements.
Even so, the sequencing could widen the performance gap in the near term. The company is deploying some of its strongest customer-acquisition and loyalty tools in the country where demand is already improving.
AI Could Strengthen the Digital Experience
Wayfair is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence as it looks to improve online merchandising while controlling costs.
The company said an internal AI production system recently created seasonal imagery for Perigold that would traditionally have required location shoots, travel, studio space, styling teams and other production expenses.
Wayfair estimated that a conventional version of the project would have cost approximately US$2 million. The AI-assisted production cost less than US$10,000, according to Shah.
The claim has not been independently verified and depends on Wayfair’s estimate of what an equivalent traditional campaign would have cost. It nevertheless demonstrates the scale of the savings the company believes generative tools can deliver.
For an online furniture retailer, the technology has uses beyond advertising. Consumers frequently need to see how individual products might look in a completed room. Producing conventional lifestyle photography for millions of items would be prohibitively expensive.
AI-generated environments could allow Wayfair to show more of its assortment in realistic settings, update seasonal presentations more frequently and help customers visualize combinations of furniture and décor.
The company is also developing AI tools to assist its in-store and virtual designers with product selection and presentations.
These investments will not eliminate the appeal of touching a fabric or sitting on a sofa. They may narrow some of the experiential gap between online and store-based furniture shopping.
Canada Is Still Waiting for Sustained Momentum
Wayfair expects company-wide revenue to grow at a high-single-digit rate during the third quarter. Management said the forecast does not depend on an improvement in the wider economy. It expects customer loyalty, product selection, delivery, stores and technology investments to continue driving market-share gains.
That confidence should not obscure the difference between gaining share and benefiting from a healthy category.
Wayfair can outperform competitors in a soft market, but Canadian households still determine the size and pace of the wider opportunity. Furniture demand is unlikely to accelerate meaningfully until consumers feel more secure about their finances and more comfortable making large discretionary purchases.
The early improvement in Canadian housing activity could eventually support the category. For now, furniture sales remain below last year, consumer spending intentions are subdued and many households are prioritizing other expenses.
Wayfair’s quarter shows that a home furnishings recovery is possible. It also shows that the recovery is arriving unevenly.
In the United States, stronger consumer segments and Wayfair’s own initiatives are creating renewed momentum. In Canada, the conditions needed for a sustained rebound have yet to fully take hold.
Grocery store meat butcher department. Image: RI/Google
At first glance, the presence of inexpensive Australian beef in Canadian grocery stores seems absurd. How can beef raised thousands of kilometres away, shipped across the Pacific and distributed through Canada sell for substantially less than beef produced in Alberta?
Recent comparisons circulating online have shown Australian striploin selling for approximately $24 per kilogram while a Canadian alternative was priced above $50. Understandably, Canadian cattle producers and consumers are asking how this is possible.
But inexpensive Australian beef may not be the threat to Canadian beef that many assume. For a limited period, it could actually help protect the domestic industry’s most valuable long-term asset: the Canadian beef consumer.
Canadian beef prices have reached levels that many households simply cannot absorb. Ground beef, once considered an economical protein, has become increasingly expensive. Premium steaks are now beyond the reach of many middle-income families except for special occasions. Faced with these prices, consumers do not merely purchase less-expensive cuts. They migrate toward chicken, pork, fish or other alternatives.
That substitution can become permanent.
Food consumption is largely habitual. When families stop preparing beef regularly, they develop new recipes, shopping routines and preferences. Restaurants change menus. Retailers reduce shelf space. Over time, a temporary supply shortage can cause lasting demand destruction.
This is where Australian beef can play a surprisingly constructive role. By offering a more affordable entry point, imported beef keeps consumers engaged with the category. They continue visiting the meat counter, preparing steaks and roasts, purchasing ground beef and treating beef as part of their regular diet.
In economic terms, Australian beef can function as a bridge until Canadian production recovers.
Canada’s cattle herd contracted for years and cannot be rebuilt quickly. Even when producers begin retaining more heifers, several years are required before those decisions generate significant additional beef supplies. Canadian consumers cannot reasonably be expected to wait indefinitely while paying historically high prices.
Australia, meanwhile, has a highly export-oriented beef industry, a climate that permits longer grazing seasons and efficient access to international markets. Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Australian beef also enjoys favourable access to Canada. Despite the distance involved, refrigerated ocean freight adds surprisingly little to the cost of each kilogram when spread across an entire container.
None of this means the products are necessarily identical. Canada and Australia use different grading systems. Canadian AAA beef is typically grain-finished and more heavily marbled, while much Australian beef is grass-fed and leaner. An Australian striploin marked at $24 per kilogram should not automatically be considered equivalent to Canadian AAA striploin selling for $52.
Country of origin, grade, feeding method and whether the product was previously frozen should therefore be clearly disclosed. Consumers deserve enough information to understand what they are comparing.
Nevertheless, the quality distinction does not invalidate the broader economic argument. A family deciding between affordable Australian beef and abandoning beef altogether is not necessarily taking a sale away from a Canadian producer. At current prices, that household may no longer be a realistic buyer of Canadian beef.
The imported product may instead preserve that household as a future customer.
Canadian beef also retains significant competitive advantages. It enjoys strong domestic recognition, established quality standards and considerable consumer loyalty. When Canadian supplies improve and prices moderate, many consumers will likely return to Canadian beef—provided they have not already abandoned the category.
Imports can also introduce some useful competitive tension into the processing and retail sectors. The price paid to cattle producers explains only part of the final shelf price. Processing capacity, labour, transportation, wholesale negotiations, retail strategies and margins all influence what consumers ultimately pay. A credible imported alternative can place pressure on every participant in that chain to justify costs and improve efficiency.
Canadian cattle producers should not be expected to sell below their costs, nor should Canada become permanently dependent on imported beef. The objective must remain a larger, more productive and resilient domestic cattle industry.
But protection from competition is not the same as protection from consumer abandonment.
If Australian beef keeps Canadians buying beef during an exceptional period of domestic scarcity, it may support rather than undermine the Canadian industry. The real danger is not that consumers temporarily purchase Australian beef. It is that persistently high Canadian prices drive an entire generation of consumers away from the beef counter.
Sometimes an imported competitor does more than take market share. It keeps the market alive.
“We believe the value of our business lies in the strength of the KITS brand and the loyalty it earns — and this quarter, that loyalty showed up in the numbers,” said Roger Hardy, Co-Founder and CEO of KITS. “Repeat revenue grew 27.4% to 65.5% of revenue, average order value reached a record $213, glasses grew 54% at expanding margins, and the business generated a record $7.8 million in operating cash flow for the quarter. Very few companies grow at this rate; even fewer do it while generating cash. We are one of them. The business is now paying for its own acceleration, and we are still early.”
“Coming into 2026 we made a deliberate decision to build out our glasses business, and the results – 54% growth, with the strongest new-customer cohorts in our history validates that focus,” added Tai Silvey, President of KITS. “In the back half we intend to rebalance: sustaining the momentum in glasses while ensuring our contact lens acquisition engine remains robust. Customers are choosing KITS for all of their vision needs because of the uniqueness of our vertically integrated model – quality, value, and speed in a combination we don’t believe anyone else in the category can match. Our mission is to make eyecare easy, and more than 1.1 million active customers are telling us it’s working.”
Roger HardyTai Silvey
Second Quarter 2026 Financial & Operational Highlights
For the second quarter of 2026, compared to the second quarter of 2025:
Revenue increased by 17.8% to a record $58.4 million compared to $49.6 million
Glasses revenue grew 54.0% to $11.1 million, representing 18.9% of revenue, compared to 14.5%; premium lens upgrades represented 45.2% of glasses revenue
Repeat revenue grew 27.4% to a record $38.3 million, or 65.5% of revenue, compared to 60.6% of revenue
Gross profit increased by 23.0% to $22.2 million, or 37.9% of revenue, compared to $18.0 million, or 36.3% of revenue
Adjusted EBITDA margin was 5.0% of revenue, with $2.9 million of Adjusted EBITDA, compared to 5.2% of revenue, and $2.6 million
Net Income increased by $2.2 million to $1.5 million or $0.04 per share (basic), compared to a net loss of $0.7 million or $(0.02) per share (basic)
Record operating cash flow of $7.8 million, representing 13.3% of revenue. Closing the quarter with a cash balance of $27.4 million and no debt
Running from August 11 to 13, 2026, the event will bring retailers, buyers, brands, agencies and other industry professionals to the Toronto Congress Centre’s South Building, Hall D. With less than a week remaining before the doors open, retailers interested in attending are encouraged to register and finalize their plans.
Event Details
Event: United in Style – Spring/Summer 2027 Dates: August 11–13, 2026 Venue: Toronto Congress Centre, South Building, Hall D Address: 650 Dixon Road, Toronto Hours: August 11 and 12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; August 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The marketplace is intended for boutiques, department stores, online retailers, buyers and other professionals working across the footwear, apparel and accessory industries.
A Focused Look at Spring/Summer 2027
United in Style gives retailers an opportunity to preview upcoming Spring/Summer 2027 collections while meeting directly with the brands and agencies representing them.
AFA Canada says attendees can expect hundreds of brands, trend-driven collections and industry networking over the three-day show. Retailers can use the marketplace to discover new labels, review products in person, build relationships with suppliers and place orders for the next selling season.
The timing places the event at an important point in the buying calendar. Retailers are already assessing next year’s assortments, making decisions about supplier relationships and identifying products that may resonate with their customers.
Having buyers and sellers together in one venue allows those conversations to take place efficiently. Attendees can examine product quality, materials, colours and styling firsthand while comparing collections across a broad national marketplace.
Time to Reconnect with the Industry
The value of United in Style also extends to the relationships formed and renewed on the show floor.
Retailers can reconnect with current suppliers, meet prospective partners and exchange market intelligence with other professionals navigating similar business conditions. For brands and agencies, the event offers direct access to buyers from across the Canadian market.
AFA Canada describes its broader role as bringing retailers and wholesalers together through events, education and industry support. United in Style is the Association’s biannual trade show and a central part of its work connecting buyers and sellers across Canada’s footwear, apparel and accessory sectors.
The Association has supported Canada’s footwear and fashion industry since 1967, evolving from its early roots into a national community focused on helping businesses connect, collaborate and grow.
Buyer Bucks Return
Retail buyers attending the August show will also be entered into the Buyer Bucks draws when they register.
AFA Canada says three draws will take place each day, with winners required to use their Buyer Bucks during the show. Additional prizes are also planned, giving registered buyers another incentive to explore the marketplace and engage with participating exhibitors.
Final Days to Make Plans
With United in Style opening next Tuesday, the remaining window for retailers to register, arrange travel and schedule supplier meetings is narrowing.
Retailers preparing Spring/Summer 2027 assortments can use the three-day event to discover collections, compare products and conduct business with industry partners under one roof. The show also provides a timely opportunity to reconnect with Canada’s wider footwear, apparel and accessories community before the next selling season advances further.
Consumers have entered a new era of skepticism toward brand content. According to new research from Cashew, nearly nine in 10 consumers (87%) believe the ads, social posts, product images and other content they see from brands are at least partly created using AI. Yet only 13% say they are very confident they can tell what is AI-generated and what is not.
The study, based on a survey of 2,149 consumers across Canada and the U.S., suggests this growing uncertainty is reshaping how brands earn trust. Rather than rewarding polished storytelling or carefully crafted brand messaging, consumers increasingly look for evidence they can verify, said the company, which provides real-time consumer insights through its AI-powered research platform, helping brands uncover original human perspectives faster than traditional research methods.
“AI hasn’t made consumers stop valuing authenticity. It has changed what authenticity requires,” said Addy Graves, CEO of Cashew. “When people assume every brand can generate authentic-looking content, trust no longer comes from saying the right things. It comes from proving your claims with real customers, transparent communication and consistent performance.”
Addy GravesMikhail Nilov photo
Cashew said the findings suggest marketers may need to rethink long-held assumptions about what differentiates brands in an AI-powered world.
Among the key findings:
87% believe brands use at least some AI-generated content.
Only 13% are very confident they can identify AI-generated content.
Consumers are most concerned about AI when it appears in health, finance, customer testimonials and “behind-the-scenes” content.
Product quality (38%) and real customer stories (31%) are most effective at helping a brand stand out today.
While 79% prefer authentic brands, authenticity alone is no longer a competitive advantage. It is an expectation.
“The research points to a broader shift. As AI makes polished creative easier and cheaper to produce, consumers are placing greater value on proof over presentation. Real customer experiences, transparent business practices, credible reviews and original evidence increasingly outweigh aesthetic perfection,” added Cashew.
Italian luxury fashion house Fendi has opened a new boutique at Vancouver’s Oakridge Park, giving the brand its only standalone store in Canada and adding another internationally recognized name to the development’s growing collection of luxury retailers.
The boutique spans more than 1,689 square feet and is located between Chanel and Bvlgari on Oakridge Park’s first retail level. It carries women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear, joining an expanding cluster of directly operated luxury boutiques that has become one of the defining features of the redevelopment.
The opening represents the latest chapter in Fendi’s Canadian retail strategy. While the Italian fashion house continues to operate boutiques within Holt Renfrew stores in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, the Oakridge Park location is now its only standalone Canadian boutique following the closure of its temporary standalone store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
The independent format also allows Fendi to present a broader assortment than its remaining Canadian department-store locations. Unlike the boutiques operating within Holt Renfrew, the Oakridge Park store is able to carry fur products following Holt Renfrew’s decision to discontinue the sale of animal fur and exotic skins across its stores.
Fendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: Fendi
Boutique Draws on Fendi’s Roman Heritage
The boutique reflects the Roman roots that have shaped Fendi since its founding a century ago. Its entrance features a handmade Calce Romana curtain element that reveals a ribbed travertine façade inspired by Roman architecture and materials.
Inside, visitors enter the women’s leather goods and accessories area, where a ribbed travertine feature wall showcases the maison’s signature handbags. Flooring inspired by the domus homes of ancient Rome extends throughout the boutique, while handmade Calce Romana wave walls and Italian furnishings define the women’s ready-to-wear and footwear areas.
Custom ceramic works by Mexican artist Andrés Anza Cortés, created through Florence-based Secci Gallery, are displayed throughout the store. Roman-inspired walnut arches lead into the dedicated men’s department, which incorporates champagne-toned metal detailing, hammered wood display niches, parquet flooring referencing Rome’s Baths of Caracalla and custom deep-green tilework.
Fendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: Fendi
A Century of Italian Luxury
Founded in Rome in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi, the company began as a leather goods boutique and fur workshop before growing into one of the world’s best-known luxury fashion houses. The founders’ five daughters helped expand the family business, while designer Karl Lagerfeld’s arrival in 1965 began a creative partnership that lasted more than five decades.
Today, Fendi is part of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods company. Silvia Venturini Fendi, a member of the founding family, continues to play a leading creative role within the house.
Leather craftsmanship and fur remain central elements of Fendi’s heritage, making the Oakridge Park boutique’s ability to offer those categories a notable distinction within the Canadian market.
Fendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: Fendi
Fendi’s Canadian Retail Evolution
Canadian consumers have been able to purchase Fendi products for decades through wholesale distribution, particularly at Holt Renfrew. Dedicated Fendi boutiques arrived later.
Fendi recently closed its ground-floor boutique at Holt Renfrew’s Bloor Street flagship in downtown Toronto. Today, its remaining Canadian department-store boutiques are located within Holt Renfrew Vancouver, Holt Renfrew Yorkdale and Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.
Following the closure of that location, Oakridge Park is now home to Fendi’s only standalone Canadian store.
Fendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: Fendi
Vancouver’s Long Connection to Fendi
The Oakridge opening also brings Fendi’s standalone Canadian presence back to the city where it first began.
In the spring of 1996, Vancouver retailer Susan Pratt opened Canada’s first standalone Fendi boutique through her Collections International business. Located at 1005 Alberni Street, the licensed boutique focused primarily on handbags and accessories and operated until the early 2000s. LVMH pulled the brand following its full acquisition of Fendi in 2003.
The Alberni Street location later became part of Tiffany & Co.’s expanded Vancouver flagship, while Fendi shifted its Canadian strategy toward department-store boutiques and, more recently, directly operated locations.
Nearly three decades after that first Vancouver boutique opened, the city is once again home to Canada’s only standalone Fendi store.
Fendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: Fendi
Another Milestone for Oakridge Park
Fendi occupies a prominent position within Oakridge Park’s luxury retail district, directly between Chanel and Bvlgari. The boutique joins an expanding collection of international fashion, jewellery and watch brands that includes Louis Vuitton, Prada, Miu Miu, Loewe, Loro Piana, Moncler, Brunello Cucinelli, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and others.
The opening continues Oakridge Park’s strategy of attracting directly operated boutiques from leading European luxury houses while reinforcing Vancouver’s position as one of North America’s most important luxury retail markets.
For Fendi, the new boutique provides a dedicated platform to present the breadth of the house’s collections while returning its standalone Canadian presence to the city where that story first began nearly 30 years ago.
Fendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: FendiFendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: FendiFendi at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Image: Fendi
Dr. Phone Fix Canada Corp. has completed its acquisition of the assets of Martin Cell Phone Solutions Ltd. in Saint John, N.B., extending the company’s retail presence into New Brunswick and bringing its network of corporately owned locations to 45 across six provinces.
The company said the acquisition supports its strategy of expanding a national integrated device care platform through acquisitions, selective greenfield expansion and strategic partnerships. The transaction also strengthens its presence in Atlantic Canada following its recent expansion into Nova Scotia.
The acquisition adds an operating retail location, an existing customer base and an immediate presence in New Brunswick. Dr. Phone Fix said the acquired business will continue serving Martin’s customers while the location is gradually integrated into its operations.
“Our objective is to build a scalable national integrated device care platform by acquiring quality businesses and integrating them into our centralized operating model,” said Piyush Sawhney, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Phone Fix. “This transaction reflects the disciplined acquisition strategy we intend to replicate as we continue expanding our national integrated device care platform, which we believe can create meaningful shareholder value. This strategy includes a disciplined purchase price, modest upfront cash, vendor alignment and operational upside through integration.”
Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Dr. Phone Fix acquired Martin’s assets for total consideration of $144,440.48, including $9,440.48 in inventory.
The purchase price includes:
$50,000 in cash paid at closing;
$50,000 in deferred and performance-based payments tied to revenue thresholds; and
the issuance of common shares of the company as partial consideration.
Piyush SawhneyImage: Dr. Phone Fix
As part of the transaction, Dr. Phone Fix issued 352,849 common shares to Martin with an aggregate value of $44,440.48. The shares are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day under applicable securities laws. The company said the transaction has received approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
Dr. Phone Fix said Martin generated approximately $350,000 in annual revenue before the transaction, based on historical financial information provided by the vendor.
The company said it plans to integrate the acquired location into its centralized operating platform, including procurement, inventory management, pricing, marketing, training and standardized store-level operating processes. It said those measures are expected to improve operational efficiency and support the location’s long-term performance.
Dr. Phone Fix said it continues to evaluate acquisition opportunities across Canada that complement its existing geographic footprint and support its long-term growth strategy.
“We continue to see attractive acquisition opportunities across Canada within a fragmented industry. Our strategy is not simply to increase store count, but to build a stronger national platform with increasing operating scale, greater purchasing leverage and enhanced capabilities to serve customers, carriers, insurers and OEM partners across Canada,” said Sawhney.
Founded in 2019, Dr. Phone Fix said it now operates 45 corporately owned retail locations across Canada, providing device repair, refurbishment, certified pre-owned devices, trade-in services and related offerings through its national retail network.
